Scrubbing and mopping device



Aug. 7, 1934. c. ojANDERsoN-sMEDBr-:s 1,969,674

SCRUBBING AND MOPPING DEVICE Filed May 18, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l /fV2/[jf: OscarAnderson-#edbera Aug. 7, 1934. c. o. ANDERSON-SMEDBERG A1,969,674

SCRUBBING AND MOPPING DEVICE FiledMay 1B, 1931 4 sheets-sheet 2 y 77zwerf: Caxl Oscar Andersom Smea'berg lyw.

Aug- 7', 1934- c. o..MIDERsoN-sll-:Imaamh 1,969,674

`SCRU'BBING AND MOPPING, DEVICE Filed May 18, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug7,' 1934- c. o. ANDERsoN-sMl-:DBERG 1,969,674V

SCRUBBING `AND MOPPING DEVICE Filed May 18, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 T4 57I I j 'Y 57 n 'n |l 65 uw www CcufL Ocar Anderson -mecerg Patented ug.7, 1934 UNITED STATES SCRUBBING AND MOPPING DEVICE Carl OscarAnderson-Smedberg, Chicago, Ill., as-

sgnor to Lincoln-Schlueter Floor-Machinery Co., Inc., a corporation ofIllinois Application May 18, 1931, Serial No. 538,086

7 Claims.

My invention relates to a scrubbing and mopping machine and particularlyto such a machine in which the scrubbing and mopping portions may beseparated and used as independent units.

An object of the invention is to provide a new .and improved scrubbingand mopping machine.

A further object is to provide a mopping malchine which is so`constructed that it may be used as an independent unit or attached to ascrubbing machine without making the combination too awkward orcumbersome to handle.

A further object is to provide a mopping ma- 'chine which will not leavetracks on the oor.

A further object is to provide a squeegee having means for regulatingthe pressure thereof against thefloor.

A further object is to provide readily removable "tanks for the carriagewhich have flush bottoms so that they may be set level on the floor whenremoved from the carriage.

Other objects and advantages will appearas the description proceeds.

-iReferring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a scrubbing and mopping machineembodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a front 'elevation partly in section of the mopping machinedetached from the scrubbing machine,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side mopping machine,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the mopping machine taken on line 4-4 ofFig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the mopping machine, Y

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the carriage of the mopping machine with thetanks removed,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the mopping ma'- chine taken on line 74-7of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 7a is a fragmentary View of the coupling means for removablysupporting a wheel axle and wheels for the mopping unit, or coupling themopping unit to a scrubbing unit.

Fig..8 is a bottom view of a portion of the scrubbing machine. K

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, the scrubbing and moppingmachine is shown as a single unit in Fig. 1. The scrubbing machinecomprises a frame 11l supported on wheels 12, a pair of brushes 13 arevcarried by the frame and are driven by a motor 14. The upper portion offrame 11 lcarries a reel 15 upon which the cord 16 is wound. The end ofthe cord isrpro'vided with a plug 17 and when the plug is inserted in*electric socket, the machine mayY bemoved lelevation Aof the over thefloor, while the reel winds and unwinds the cord 16 as the machine ismoved toward or awayfrom the plug. For this purpose the reel has aspring box 18 mounted on the shaft of the reel to maintain a constanttension on the cord. In order to prevent the scrubbing machine fromscratching or marring the wall along which it is moved, a roller 19 ismounted on each side of the gear housing 21 for the brushes.

The mopping machine comprises a carriage which consists of a rectangularframe 22 having side angle bars 23, a rear angle bar 24, and front anglebars 25 and 26. These angle bars have a portion lying in a horizontalplane, and an upturned portion forming a iiange surrounding the frame.The iront side of the bar, which is made of two pieces 25 and 26 hasthese pieces connected by a U shaped support 27 secured to each of thepieces. Two angle rbars 28 and 29 are connected between the rear bar 24and the front bars 25 and 26, dividing the frame into two parts, one ofwhich is adapted to support a tank31 for holding clean water and theother of which supports a tank 32 for receiving used water. The frame 22is mounted upon a number of wheels. Secured tothe front bars 25 and 26of the frame are downwardly extending arms 33 "and 34. These armshavevlongitudinal slots 35 .(Fig. 7a) in their lower ends to t over `anaxle as 38 and each arm has a latch 36 vwith a transverse slot 37, saidlatch 36 being pivotally mounted on the arm so that the slot 37 swingsover the axle 38 to hold-it with its wheels 39 Von the arms 3334. Whenthe mopping machine is used as a separate unit as shown in Figs. 2 to 7,the wheels 39 and axle 38 are applied as a separate unit to the arms33-34 as shown in Fig. 2. However, when using the mopping machine withthe scrubbing machine, as shown in Fig. l, the arms 33-34 are connectedto the axle 41 of the scrubbing machine which axle carries the wheels12, and

in the latter case the axles 38 together with the wheels 39, of course,are not used.v Thus the mopping machine may be detachably coupleddirectly behind the scrubbing machine with the arms and latches lockedover the axle 41 allowing for vertical pivotal movement of the scrubbingunit in relation to the mopping unit as the combined apparatus is pushedalong over uneven floors, ridges, etc.

In addition to the wheels 39, the machine has a wheel 42 locatedsubstantially centrally of the mopping unit, but back of the center ofgravity of the mopping unit, due to the fact that the motor Vof thescrubbing machine is locatedy 4forlseo wardly of this wheel. Wheel 42has a caster bearing 43, which is connected to a plate 44 so as topermit rotation of the wheel about a vertical axis. The plate 44 issecured to the crossbars 28 and 29.

The mopping of the floor is accomplished by means of'a V shaped squeegeewhich is shown as having three plys oi resilient material such as rubberand is secured to a V shaped reinforcing frame 46. The frame 22 isprovided with four supports 47 (Fig. 6) which carry down; wardlyextending threaded pins 48. These' pins extend through four supports 49carried 4by the squeegeeframe 46. Each of the pins 48 has a knurled nut51Y and between this nut and a s upfport 49 is a spring 52 forurging'the squeegee downwardly against the iloor. tension of thesqueegee may be y.adiusted by the nuts 51. It will be seen that thisconnection o f the squeegee with the frame causes thesdueegee to movehorizontally with the floor .but .permits vertical movement' with resp/ect to the frame and licor, When the mopping device is not being used itis desirable to raise the squeegee from the floor. In Vorder to elevatethe squeegee, the frame 46 is provided with two upwardly extending arms50 which are attached to the frame subtantially nudway .along ythe Sidesof the frame- A U shaped lever. 5,3 is pivotally connected to the upperends of .these arms Vand is fulcrumed on a pivot pin- 54 which isjournaled in downwardly extending arms 55 carried by the frame. The rearbar 2 4 of the frame carries a latch 56 which maybe depressed with thefoot to hold the lever in a position in which the squeegee is elevatedfrom the floor.

InV addition to .the wheels 3 9 and wheel 4 2, the carriage of themopping device is Yprovided with wheels 57. TheSe wheels are mounted incaster arms 58 and the'wheels are rotatable about vertie cal pins 59.These wheels are used chiefly when the mopping machine is transportedwith the squeegee in elevated position. Y

When the machine is .used for mopping, these Wheels 57`are`elevated fromth,e901,'b3u5 it has been found that they invariably leave tracks on theiioor whenleft in Contact with the floor. In order to .elevatethesewheels,the bearings 61 for pins '59 are provided withv a helicalslot 62,,Ex-

tending through this slotand into pin 59 `is a lever `63. Byshiftingthis lever through an kangle of lSOdegrees, the-wheels 57 may be raisedor lowered from theflooli The `carriage is Aadapted to support twoAtanks 31 .and 32; The tank 31 isa cleanwater tank and has 'a valve 64for regulating the flow 4of water from the outlet 65 of the tank. 'Thisoutlet issubstantially iiush with the bottom of the tank and/fits into4the inlet 66 of a conduit-67. `The'end of thisconduit is reduced as.Shown-at 68"-'andlts into aconduit 69 on the scrubbingmachine, whichleads to an outletg71 carrying the-water to the -iront of the .rotatingbrushes. The connection between conduits 68 and 69 may -fbe ratherloose, since there'is no appreciable pressure on the Water therein, andaThe downwardV stantially iiush with the bottom of the tank, tsfrictionally into the inlet 66 of conduit 67.

The tank 32 is designed to receive the used or waste water. Secured tothe frame of the carriage is a pipe 76 which has a resilient hose ofrubber or the like 77, secured thereto so as to form an` extension which`reaches into close proximity to the oor. The upper end of the pipe 76is secured to 'a plate 78 attached to the crossbars 28 and 29, and arubber washer 79 is placed over the plate and around the pipe. The tank32 has a downwardly extending pipe or conduit 8l running along theoutside of the tank and tting over the opening of pipe 76 when the tankis in position onthe carriage. The upper end of the pipe,as lshown at82, extends into the tank and is 'at such an angle'as to direct theWater downyWardlyfdn order to prevent splashing of the water the tank,the lateral side of the pipe is formed at an angle as shown at 84 inFig. 4 to direct the Water against the side of the thereby preyeetirsss.estates ,of theiweter- In order for the Water to hedrwli into the .benk3.2, the 11d e5 of .theieok is provided with a vacuum pump 86 operatedby a motor 87. This pump and motor are mounted on the .lid in Sueh a Wayas to hold the lid in position .by gravity, and in order to -emptythetankthe motor and pump well as the lid may be removed-therefrom. and thetank may .then be liftediromthe carriage and emptied. The inlet 8S tothis pump `.iepositioned on the opnostesde of .the tank as the ,inlet ofpipe 81 so that no water will ,be drown into the pump. The exhaustSideof the Dump prefere ably provided with a muffler 39 .for deseemosthe soundof the pump. Y Y Y f The motor 87 may be operated from a plugY91 on the Switch yloos .9 2 on the .scrubbing machine from which a,conductor 93 also 4leeds to motor 14 of kthe scrubbing machine. .Inonerating the ,apr paratus. the latch 561s :movedilsterally the foot ,toallow the springs 5.2 to engage Saueegee with the oor. The motors forthe and the vacuum tank arethen `started ,and the :valve 64 is adjustedto supply the proper ampuntof waterto the brushes. ,brushes rotate inSuch a direction ,that .the .Water supplied forwardly of the brushesis-washed rearwardly between the brushes as the machine is pushedforwardly over the water, vand athusthewaheris brushed toward thesqueegee of the mopping device. The squee-l gee .on'acount of its 1Vshane .collects the water at the apex of the V, .Where it v is picked`up by the sleeve 77,*Whichis v'1n'closeeploximity to `the floor and isdrawn into the vacuum tank.

The :combined scrubbing and mopping rmachine maybe propelledlby means,of @handle 94, which is pivotally connected ,to-the bottom of the frame:at 95, .(Fig. 1) and a pair of arms 96 are pivotally connected .to theupper `p drtion of the frame 11. .'Ihesearms are .adjustablyoonnected tohandle-94 by a .clamp and Screw 97 so that the height ofthe handle .barsv98 ,be ad:- justed to Vany Ldesired position. When jthe mopping machineis used separately',: a pair of handles 99 ,are provided, which areattached-mathe side bars 23 -of the Icarriage frame. y n

bIn order. toy prevent ,the monninsma. ine IL-rom scratching or mailingvthe wall, ,a pair of IOIIerS .101 are rotatably mounted@ the sie@bersgsgq;

In ,addition to these rollers, .af-pair. ofrollers m2-are mounted on:theendsfof'thesgueegee support frame 46. 'I {hesergll u v. exte dvlaterally sugnuybeyens ,the ends yofi the. :Sseeeseeiewe to prevent theframe from scraping against the wall. Ihe squeegee itself extends beyondthe end of the frame so that the machine may be moved along a wall withthe squeegee in contact with the wall to insure that no water will beleft on the oor in the corner along the wall.

It will be understood that the nature and embodiment of the inventionherein described and illustrated is merely a convenient and useful formof the invention, and that many changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is to belimited only by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of theUnited States is 1. In an apparatus of the class described, a moppingdevice including a carriage, a squeegee carried by said carriage, Wheelsfor supporting the carriage and spacing it from the floor, some of saidwheels being in advance of the squeegee and some being to the rear ofthe squeegee, and means for elevating the wheels to the rear of thesqueegee, while the device is in operation to prevent the leaving oftracks'.

2. The combination with an independently operable scrubbing unitincluding a carriage and a motor driven brush rotatably mounted thereon,an independently operable mopping unit including a carriage withsqueegee and water collecting means supported thereon, means for readilyremovably attaching said mopping unit carriage to the frame of thescrubbing unit whereby said units may be operated individually andseparately, said means including a separable pivotal connection betweenthe units to permit independent pivotal movement of the units. f

3. The combination with an independently operable scrubbing unitincluding a carriage and a motor driven brush rotatably mounted thereonand an axle carried rearwardly of said carriage, an independentlyoperable mopping unit including a carriage with a squeegee and watercollecting means supported thereon, means for readily removablyconnecting the mopping unit to the scrubbing unit whereby said units maybe operated individually and separately, said means including a couplingassembly carried on the mopping unit adapted for detachably locking onsaid axle of the mopping machine to provide a pivotal connection betweenthe units to permit relative pivotal movement thereof.

4. A mopping device for use as an independent unit or in combinationwith a scrubbing machine, comprising a frame with a V-shaped squeegeemounted beneath said frame and a guiding wheel mounted beneath the frameinside the apex of the squeegee, a pair of wheels mounted at the rear ofthe frame adapted to be raised and lowered, means for raising andlowering the latter wheels for use independent of the guiding wheel Y Yframe, and means for receiving an axle with additional supporting wheelswhen the device is used as an independent mopping unit and fordetachably connecting the mopping device to a scrubbing device when usedin combination with the latter, said means including notched arms andlatches pivotally secured thereto cooperable to detachably carry theWheel supporting axle, when the mopping device is used as an independentunit, and to detachably couple the lnopping and scrubbing devices whenthese units are used in combination.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a mopping device including acarriage, a water receiving tank having an opening in the bottom thereofmounted on said carriage, a suction tube secured to said carriage andextending downwardly into close proximity to the floor, a suction tubemounted in said ltank terminating one end at the bottom of said tank,means for receiving the tank on the carriage to position said tank tubein abutting alignment with the suction tube on the carriage withA theupper end of the tank tube terminating within said tank, a removable lidfor said tank and a suction pump mounted on said lid and communicatingthrough said lid with the ,water receiving tank when the lid is inposition on the tank with said suction pump adapted to draw the waterfrom the oor through the suction tube and tank tube into said tank.

'7. In a oor mopping machine of the class described, a rectangular framefor supporting a water'collecting tank, oor rollers for supporting theframe a predetermined distance above the floor, a squeegee positionedbeneath the frame, means for yieldingly suspending the squeegee from theframe whereby the squeegee is maintained in contact with undulating orflat surfaced iioors, said means comprising a plurality of studs xedlydepending from the frame and slidably extending through openings in thesqueegee with a spring surrounding each stud and positioned between theframe and squeegee to yieldingly press the squeegee against the oor, anda treadle extending from the squeegee to the rear of the frame to liftthe squeegee independently of the movement of the frame and studs andmaintain the squeegee out of-contact with the oor.

l CARL OSCAR ANDERSON-SMEDBERG.

